Dickson RV-3A N3920P

Summary

On 9 October 1996 at about 23:45 local time, a Dickson RV-3A registered N3920P was involved in an accident near Rosharon, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 October 1996 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Rosharon, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.3698, -95.4500

Aircraft

Dickson RV-3A

Registration

N3920P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

League City → Arcola

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA013

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to follow procedures and directives in that he did not use carburetor heat and he did not periodically clear the engine during an extended glide. Factors were the carburetor icing weather conditions and the transmission wire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was doing 'some formation flying and sight seeing' with a friend in another airplane. The pilot stated that he 'pulled the power back to approximately 1,000 RPM in order for my friend to catch up with me.' Approximately 30 to 45 seconds went by and the pilot advanced the throttle to discover that he had 'no power.' The pilot performed a forced landing and impacted a transmission wire starting a fire in the engine compartment before he got to the ground. After landing, the pilot immediately exited the airplane and the airplane subsequently burned. The pilot, who is also an aircraft mechanic with an Inspection Authorization, reported that he suspects that the aircraft's engine power loss was due to 'carburetor icing.' The temperature and dew point reported in the local area at the time of the accident place the ambient air well inside the possible carburetor icing area on an icing probability curves chart.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.